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Two models of adolescent self-mutilation
1Department of Educational and Counseling Psychology, McGill University, Montreal, PQ, Canada.
Suicide & Life-Threatening Behavior
|October 30, 2003
Summary
Adolescent self-mutilation (SM) is linked to increased anxiety and hostility. This study found that adolescents engaging in SM reported higher levels of both anxiety and hostility, supporting the hostility model of self-mutilation.
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Psychiatry
- Adolescent Health
Background:
- Limited research exists on the theoretical basis of self-mutilation (SM) in adolescent community samples.
- Two prominent models, the hostility and anxiety reduction models, offer potential explanations for SM behavior.
Purpose of the Study:
- To simultaneously test the hostility and anxiety reduction models of self-mutilation in adolescents.
- To investigate whether self-mutilation in adolescents is associated with heightened feelings of anxiety and hostility.
Main Methods:
- Screened 440 students for self-mutilation (SM).
- Administered the Hostility and Direction of Hostility Questionnaire (HDHQ) and Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI) to 61 students who self-mutilate and a comparison group.
- Conducted interviews with participants.
Main Results:
- Results supported the hostility model of self-mutilation.
- Adolescents who self-mutilated reported significantly higher levels of anxiety.
- Increased intropunitive and extrapunitive hostility was reported by adolescents engaging in SM, with feelings of both hostility and anxiety preceding the behavior.
Conclusions:
- The findings lend support to the hostility model of adolescent self-mutilation.
- Both anxiety and hostility appear to be significant factors preceding and associated with self-mutilation behavior in adolescents.
- Further research is warranted to explore the interplay of these factors in adolescent SM.